Flagpole rope threader



1967 Rfu. METZGER ETAL 3,300,185

FLAGPOLE ROPE THREADER 2 Sheets-$heet l INVENTORS. @5565 U. METZG'EE LILL/E SUE/14572652 Filed Sept. 10, 1965 FIG. IA

United States Patent Office 33%,185 Patented Jan. 24, 1967 3,300,185 FLAGPOLE ROPE THREADER Reece U. Metzger and Lillie Sue Metzger, both of 16272 Cedar-lane Drive, La Puente, Calif. 91745 Filed Sept. 10, 1965, Ser. No. 486,297 11 Claims. (Cl. 254-1343) Generally speaking, the present invention relates to flagpoles and, more particularly, to a flagpole rope threader which completely eliminates the necessity of ever climbing to the top of the flagpole directly, or indirectly by means of an auxiliary structure such as a ladder, or being elevated to the top of the flagpole by powered elevating apparatus such as a crane, hoist, or the like.

The above is necessary in connection with the conventional prior art type of flagpoles in order to mount the conventional prior art flagpole rope over a pulley, or the like, so that a flag may be fastened to one leg of the rope to make it :possible, from a position at the base of the flagpole, to elevate or lower the flag whenever this is desired. In such conventional prior art flagpole structures, whenever the rope becomes broken for any reason whatsoever, it is necessary for a maintenance man to either climb to the top of the flagpole or be powerelevated to the top of the flagpole for placing a new rope over the pulley.

The novel flagpole rope threader of the present invention completely eliminates and overcomes the prior art problem in that it is never necessary to climb or be power-elevated to the top of the flagpole for placing a flagpole rope in operative relationship over a pulley at the top of the flagpole for purposes similar to those described above in connection with conventional prior art flagpole and flagpole rope and pulley arrangements. This is a great advantage since it is very much simpler and also is much less dangerous than the conventional prior art practice mentioned above.

The novel flagpole rope threader of the present invention overcomes the prior art problem through the use of a threading conduit extending from a lower portion of the flagpole, which is conveniently accessible by a person standing adjacent thereto, to an upper portion of the flagpole, usually near the top end or flagpole head thereof, and with said threading conduit having an entry opening at said lower or base end thereof and having an exit opening at the remote or top end thereof so that a threading member of any of several diflerent types which will be referred to in greater detail hereinafter may be caused to move upwardly through said threading conduit from the entry opening at the lower end thereof to the exit opening at the top end thereof and then out of said exit opening for gravity return to the base of the flagpole where the head end of said threading mernber may be manually grasped by a person standing at said location adjacent to the base of the flagpole so that one end of a flagpole rope (in one version of the invention) may be fastened to said head end of said threading member, after which the rear end of said threading member may be pulled in a manner such as to move said head end of said threading member (and said end of said flagpole rope temporarily attached thereto) in the opposite direction upwardly from said exterior position adjacent to the base of the flagpole to said exit opening near the top of the flagpole and then back into the threading conduit and then downwardly through the threading conduit to the entry opening at the base thereof and then out of said entry opening where said end of said flagpole rope may be released from said head end of said threading member and fastenedor tied to itself to effectively cause said flagpole rope to assume the form of an endless loop.

Of course, it is obvious that once the flagpole rope is in said effective endless loop form, a flag may be attached at vertically spaced points thereon by suitable fasteners of any desired type and this operation may be performed at the base of the flagpole.

Then the attached flag may be elevated to any desired height along the vertical extent of the flagpole 'by merely pulling the portion of the flagpole rope which passes downwardly through the threading conduit in a downward direction which, of course, will allow the outer portion of the flagpole rope carrying the flag to move upwardly toward the upper pulley carried by the flagpole adjacent to the top thereof. The lowering of the flag may be accomplished by the procedure substantially the reverse of that just described.

The important point to note is the fact that, through the use of the threading conduit referred to above for passing the threading member upwardly from the lower entry opening to and through the upper exit opening for exterior gravity-caused return to a location adjacent to the base of the flagpole, the entire operation described above becomes possible. In other words, this is the feature which makes it possible to draw the flagpole rope into the proper relationship over the upper flagpole pulley without having to climb to the elevation of said upper flagpole pulley, or being power-elevated by a hoist or crane means to said upper flagpole pulley level, as is necessary in conventional prior art flagpole structures.

In one exemplary form of the present invention, the threading member referred to above may merely comprise any longitudin-al tensile member having a head end capable of being vertically impelled along said threading conduit. For example, said head end may comprise a floatable projectile member having an exterior diameter very nearly that of the interior diameter of said threading conduit, in which case the lower entry opening of the conduit may be provided with suitable coupling means for connection to the hose, water tap, or other conventional source of water under pressure which may be forcibly. turned on so as to impel said floatable projectile or head member upwardly along the interior of the threading conduit on the surface of the water being fed upwardly therethrou'gh. When the pressurized water reaches the upper exit opening of the threading conduit, it will, of course, eject said floatable projectile or head member comprising the head end of the threading member out of said exit opening in a forcible manner which will then allow said head end of said threading member to fall back to ground level into a position adjacent to the base of the flagpole, under the action of gravity.

Instead of using a floatable member, said head end member may merely comprise a bullet-like plug or projectile member which, because of the pressure of the water behind it, is effectively forced upwardly along the threading conduit in a manner similar to the propelling of a fired bullet by the expanding hot gasses therebehind. Of course, the invention is not limited to the use of pressurized water as the propelling medium. Instead, pressurized air or, indeed, any gas, liquid, or, more generically speaking, any fluid maybe employed in lieu of the pressurized water arrangement just described for propelling such a projectile or plug member, comprising the head end of the threading member, upwardly along the interior of the threading conduit for the purposes outlined above.

Instead of employing a projectile type head member in the manner described above, the threading member may merely comprise a longitudinal member having sufiicient stiffness to allow it to be manually pushed upwardly from the lower entry opening into the threading conduit along the inside surface of said threading conduit to and through the upper exit opening at the upper end of said threading conduit and outwardly therefrom to a position completely exterior of the flagpole.

It should be understood that normally the exit opening will be provided with deflecting guide means so arranged as to cause the bending or deflection of said stifl threading member for changing the direction of movement thereof from its formerly upward direction into an outward direction so as to pass from the interior of the threading conduit to a position exterior thereof and completely exterior of the flagpole in the manner described above.

Normally said deflecting guide means is so positioned as to cause the deflected head end of the stifi" threading member to pass over an upper flagpole pulley which is rotatively mounted adjacent to the upper or top end of the flagpole so that said relatively stiff threading memher will roll along the top of said pulley and outwardly until its weight causes it to deflect downwardly under the action of gravity, after which it will return toward a lower position adjacent to the bottom of the flagpole and adjacent to said entry opening at the lower end of said threading conduit, thus making it possible to fasten one end of the flagpole rope to said head end of said relatively stiff, but deflectable, threading member for the previously-described reversed movement thereof by pulling said threading member in th opposite directionthat is, downwardly through said threading conduit and out of said lower entry opening which will, of course, cause said fastened end of said flagpole rope to be elevated and to pass over the top of said upper flagpole pulley and then into said upper exit opening of said threading conduit and then downwardly through the interior thereof to and out of the lower entry opening of said threading conduit in a mannersimilar to that generally described hereinbefore.

One such relatively stiff but deflectable threading member adapted for use in the particular type of flag-pole rope-threading operation just described comprises What is conventionally known as electricians fish-tape, whichcomprises a relatively thin tape-like member which has suflicient stiffness for the purposes outlined above, but which is relatively easily laterally deflected in a direction perpendicular to both its width dimension and its length dimension so as to be capable of operating and functioning for the purposes outlined above. In certain cases, such electricians fish-tape is made of deflectable metallic material, while in other cases it may be made of plastic material having similar structural characteristics insofar as the features just described are concerned.

It should be noted that the essential features of the present invention described above are applicable to one or more flagpole ropes for independently mounting a corresponding plurality of flags. In other words, there may be any desired number of upper pulleys which may be located at different locations around the flagpole as viewed from above and with each having either an in dependent threading conduit with entry and exit openings or apertures similar to those described hereinbefore, or with a common threading conduit being employed and having a pair of entry and exit openings or apertures for each individual flagpole rope adapted to independently carry a different flag.

It should also be noted that the entire portion of the flagpole carrying the threading conduit, the entry and exit apertures or openings thereof, and the upper pulley adjacent to the upper exit aperture or opening may be rotatively mounted with respect to a remaining mounting portion of the flagpole, which is advantageous since this allows a flag mounted on the outer portion of the flagpole rope to move freely in the wind without becoming wrapped around the flagpole or wound up on the flagpole, which sometimes happens when there is no such rotative mounting provided.

It should be noted that the upper end of the flagpole may be provided with a decorative flagpole head which may be completely independent of the novel flagpole threading apparatus of the present invention or which may comprise a part thereof, such as the hereinbeforementioned deflecting guide means in the form of an outwardly curved slot formed in said flagpole head and/ or which may also rotatively mount the upper pulley in certain forms of the invention, if desired.

In another form of the invention, the threading conduit operates for the purposes outlined hereinabove, but the head end of the threading member, after having been passed upwardly therethrough and then back down to ground level adjacent to the base of the flagpole is not fastened to one end of the flagpole rope but is temporarily fastened, such as with a string or with a small, easily breakable clamp, or the like, to the middle of the flagpole rope so that when it is elevated to the upper exit opening or aperture of the threading conduit by applying downward tension to the rear end of said threading member, the middle of said flagpole rope will strike said upper exit opening or aperture and will be unable to enter and, thus, the fastening string or easily breakable clamp by which it is fastened to the head end of said threading member, will break. This will release the central effectively looped portion of the elevated flagpole rope and allow it to drop (usually through or laterally against a guiding structure) directly onto the top of the upper flagpole pulley, which in this form-of the invention lies in a non-radial plane displaced from, and substantially parallel to, a longitudinal central plane in which the axis of the flagpole lies. Thus it will be seen that the looped center portion of the flagpole rope will be guidedly dropped directly onto the top of the upper flagpole pulley. Of course, then the two lower ends of the flagpole rope may be fastened together adjacent to the bottom of the flagpole, either around a lower tensioning member or lower pulley member, so as to effectively cause said flagpole rope to assume the form of an endless loop which, of course, then can be operated in either direction with respect to the upper pulley member for either elevating or lowering a flag attached thereto in a manner similar to that generally described hereinbefore.

With the above points in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel flagpole rope threader of the nature referred to both herein before and herin- .after, having the features referred to herein, generically and/or specifically and individually or in combination, and which is of extremely simple, inexpensive, easy-to-use construction suitable for simple and easy mounting on either a pre-existing flagpole or for being incorporated thereinto at the time that it is initially manufactured and initially mounted, and with the complete device being readily adapted for mass manufacture at very low cost whereby to be conducive to widespread use thereof.

Further objects are implicit in the detailed description which follows hereinafter (which is to he considered as exemplary of, but not specifically limiting, the present invention) and said objects will be apparent to persons skilled in the art after careful study of the detailed description which follow hereinafter.

For the purpose of clarifying the nature of the present invention, several exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the hereinbelow-descri bed figures of the accompanying drawings and are described in detail hereinafter.

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, partially broken-away View, partly in elevation and partly in section, along a substantially vertical central plane, of one exemplary form of the present invention. It should be noted that in this view a large part of the central portion of the flagpole and the threading conduit are broken away and removed for drawing space saving reasons. Also, it should be noted that this view illustrates the first exemplary embodiment of the invention prior to the threading of a flagpole rope thereon.

FIG. 1A is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the plane indicated by the arrows 1A-1A of FIG. 1 and is specifically for the purpose of illustrating the upper exit opening at the top of the threading conduit and the outwardly curved guide means defined by the inner upwardly and outwardly curved edge of the slot mounting the pulley wheel-it being understood that the lower entry openings adjacent to the bottom of the flagpole and also shown in FIG. 1, and the outwardly curved guide means defined by the downwardly and outwardly curved edge of the lower slot, are of similar construction and, therefore, are not independently illustrated.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view similar to at least certain portions of FIG. 1 and illustrates the same embodiment of the invention as FIG. 1 but shows it at the beginning of a flagpole rope threading operation of a first exemplary type wherein a stiff but deflectable threading member, such as the type of stiff but bendable tape commonly known as electricians fish tape, is in the act of being inserted through the lower entry opening into the lower end of the threading conduit for subsequent forcible upward movement thereof through said threading member.

FIG. 3 is a. fragmentary view illustrating a succeeding step in the flagpole rope threading operation following that illustrated in FIG. 2 and shows the stiff but deflecta'ble electricians fish tape type of threading member after it has been pushed upwardly through the entire length of the threading conduit and is being outwardly deflected and guided by an outwardly curved deflecting guide means positioned adjacent an exit opening at the top of s'aid threading member for outward passage over the top pulley rotatively carried by the flagpole near its top end.

FIG. 4 illustrates the next succeeding step in the flagpole rope threading operation after the electricians fish tape type of stiff but deflecta'ble threading member of FIGS. 2 and 3 has been forcibly pushed upwardly from the lower end of the threading member to an extent substantially greater than that shown in FIG. 3 so that the head end of said threading member is deflected downwardly under the action of gravity into a position closely adjacent to the lower or base end of the flagpole and also closely adjacent to the entry opening into which said fish tape threading member was initially inserted as shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 illustrates the next succeeding step in the flagpole rope threading operation wherein after the head end of the fish tape threading member shown in FIG. 4 is tied or otherwise fastened temporarily to one end of a flagpole rope, said fish tape threading member is pulled downwardly out of the entry opening at the bottom of the threading member in a direction opposite to the original upward insertion thereinto as shown in FIG. 2, which lifts the fastened end of the flagpole rope upwardly to a position near the top of the flagpole as shown in FIG. 5 where it is about to be pulled over the top of the pulley member and through the exit opening and inwardly and downwardly along the previously mentioned deflecting guide means and then downwardly through the threading conduit to the bottom end thereof and then out through the entry opening at the bottom end of said threading conduit.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIGS. 1 through 5, but illustrates the next succeeding step after the end of the flagpole rope has been pulled downwardly by the fish tape through the threading conduit and out the lower entry opening, where it is then tied or otherwise fastened to, an adjacent end portion of the flagpole rope whereby to assume the form of an effective endless loop member as is clearly shown in FIG. 6, to which a flag may be attached by spaced fastening means as is also clearly shown in FIG. 6, after which the major portion of the endless loop flagpole rope lying within the threading conduit may be manually moved downwardly and out the lower entry opening and thereafter upwardly along the outside of the flagpole in order to controllably elevate the flag to any desired heightit, of course, being understood that the flag lowering operation is the reverse of that just described.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view very similar to the upper portion of FIG. 1, but illustrates a modified form of the flagpole, carrying the upper pulley and the exit opening communicating the upper end of the threading conduit with the exterior of the flagpole over the top of said pulley, is rotatively mounted for rotation around a vertical central axis of the flagpole relative to the rest of the flagpole therebelow so that a flag fastened to the outer portion of the flagpole rope in a manner generally similar to that illustrated in FIG. 6 will have rotary freedom for movement around the vertical central axis of the flagpole to a certain extent as permitted by the looseness of the flagpole rope and its constraint, as provided by the lower entry opening into the threading conduit such as illustrated in fragmentary section in FIG. 1. In other words, since the top portion of the modified flagpole of FIG. 7 is free to rotate to whatever degree is allowed by the looseness of the flagpole rope, any tendency for the flag to become Wound around the flagpole as a result of wind action is greatly minimized. This may be further increased in certain forms of the invention by detaching the lower end of the outer portion of the flagpole rope from the lower end of the inner portion of the flagpole rope after a flag is elevated or hoisted to a position adjacent to the rotatable upper or top portion of the modified flagpole of FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 is a view generally similar to FIG. 1 but illustrates a very slight modification thereof wherein two flagpole ropes are threaded with respect to two upper pulleys, and passed through a single threading conduit, although individual threading conduits might be employed for each flagpole rope. Also, there are two pairs of inlet and exit openings for the two flagpole ropes in this modification of the invention. The arrangement is such as to make it possible to independently thread the two flagpole ropes for mounting at :least two flags which are capable of independent elevation and lowering. While two flagpole ropes and the structures for mounting same are illustrated, it should be understood that more than two may be provided, and the showing of this figure is exemplary of all such multiple flagpole rope threading and mounting arrangements.

FIG. 9 is a view generally similar to FIG. 1 but illustrates an arrangement wherein the pulley is mounted in a plane substantially perpendicular to that of the earlier forms of the invention and wherein the threading of the flagpole rope over said pulley is accomplished in a slightly different manner from that employed in any of the earlier forms of the invention. In this view a flagpole rope is shown in a position which it assumes just prior to being threaded or engaged over the pulley.

FIG. 9A is a fragmentary right side elevational view of the modified form of the apparatus sectionally and fragmentarily illustrated in FIG. 9 and clearly shows the pre-engagement position of the centrally lifted flagpole rope of FIG. 9 over and spaced above the pulley.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 9 but shows the flagpole rope in the next succeeding position after the position of FIG. 9, wherein it has been threaded or engaged over the top of the upper flagpole pulley and has had the two ends thereof fastened together so as to effectively form an endless flagpole rope loop adapted to have its lower portion movably slidably mounted with respect to some form of tensioning member, such as a lower pulley member, for example, whereby to make the entire flagpole rope operable for the purposes of the present invention as outlined above.

FIG. 10A is a fragmentary right side elevational view generally similar to FIG. 9A, but illustrating the flagpole rope in the engaged position of FIG. 10 rather than in the pre-engagement position of FIGS. 9 and 9A.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary view generally similar to FIG.

l but illustrates a different type of threading member adapted to be forced upwardly through the threading conduit by the upward application of pressurized fluid to an enlarged head member carried at the end of said threading member, which may be any suitable flexible, longitudinal tensile member, such as fish line or the like.

Generally speaking, the exemplary first form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 16 may be said to comprise a longitudinal hollow flagpole, such as is generally designated by the reference numeral 20, having a lower base end 22 adapted to be rigidly fastened by any suitable fastening means with respect to an auxiliary supporting member such as that generally designated at 24. In the example illustrated, said auxiliary supporting member takes the form of the ground surface region and the fastening means which is generally designated at 26 for fastening the base end 22 of the flagpole 20 to said ground 24- actually comprises a lower extension 28 of the flag pole 20 which is buried in the ground 24 and which may be firmly fastened in place by a quantity of concrete or the like such as is indicated at 30. However, various types of auxiliary supporting members other than a ground surface such as shown at 24 may be employed for mounting the flagpole 20.and also various other types of fastening means in lieu of that illustrated at 26 may also be employed.

It should be noted that, in the first example illustrated, the flagpole 20 extends substantially vertically upwardly from the lower base end 22 thereof to a remote and, in this case, top end 32 which is usually positioned at a very substantial height above the ground surface 24. In the first example illustrated, the above-mentioned remote top end 32 of the flagpole 24) is shown as being provided with a decorative and esthetically attractive flagpole head, generally indicated at 34, which takes the form of an interiorly threaded bottom coupling member 36 and a spherical decorative or reflective ball-like member 38 provided primarily for decorative purposes. The threaded coupling member 36 is adapted to be threadedly attached to the threaded upper end 4% of a pulley-carrying member 42 which is effectively joined to and carried by the upper end 44 of an intermediate flagpole housing tube 46 so that the junction at 44 of said inter-mediate flagpole housing tube 46 with said pulley-carrying member 42 is of a controllably disengagea'ble nature to facilitate assembling and disassembling same. Incidentally, it should be noted that said pulley-carrying member 42 includes the previously-mentioned top end 32 of the flagpole 20.

The flagpole 2% is interiorly provided with longitudinal threading conduit means, such as is generally designated at 48, which extends upwardly substantially along the complete length of the hollow interior 56 of the flagpole 20 from a lower entry location, such as is generally designated at 52, to an upper exit location, such as generally designated at 54. Said threading conduit 48 has an outwardly directed entry opening 56 at said lower entry location 52 which extends laterally through the side wall of the flagpole 20 for communication with the exterior thereof. Similarly, the threading conduit 43 has an outwardly directed exit opening 58 at said upper exit location 54 which extends laterally through the side wall or" the flagpole 26 on the same side as the lower entry opening 56 for communication with the exterior thereof.

It should be noted that the entry opening 56 is effectively provided with an effectively outwardly curved guide means 6th for guiding a threading member into the threading conduit 48 and it should also be noted that the exit opening 53 is similarly provided with an outwardly curved guide means 62 for guiding a threading member out of the threading conduit 48. Additionally, it should be noted that, positioned within the slot 64 which terminates in said upper outwardly curved deflecting guide means 62, an upper pulley wheel 66 is rotatively mounted by a transverse pivot pin 68.

The arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 1-6 is such that a threading member, which may comprise a longitudinal, relatively stiff but controllably forcibly deflectable member, such as what is conventionally known as electricians fish tape or the like, which is generally designated at 70, may have its head end 72 manually inserted inwardly through the curved deflecting guide means 60 into the lower entry opening 56 and into the lower end of the threading conduit 48 in a manner such as is most clearly shown in FIG. 2, after which said fish tape threading member 70 may be continually pushed into said entry opening 56 and upwardly along the interior of the threading conduit 48 until it strikes the upper outwardly curved deflecting guide means 62 adjacent to the upper exit opening 58 and is thus deflected outwardly so as to pass completely outwardly through said exit opening 58 to a position exterior of the flagpole 20 and overlying the pulley 66, as is best illustrated in FIG. 3.

Then continued inward and upward pushing of the fish tape threading member 70 into the entry opening 56 of the lower end of the threading conduit 48, will cause the head end 72 of said fish tape threading memher 7 0 to be extended outwardly to a much greater extent than shown in FIG. 3 which will cause it to be downwardly deflected under the action of gravity into a position closely adjacent to the lower or base end 22 of the flagpole 20, as is best shown in FIG. 4.

Then one end, such as is shown at 74, of a flagpole rope, generally designated at 76, is tied or otherwise fastened temporarily to said head end 72 of said fish tape threading member '70, after which the rear end of said fish tape threading member '70 is pulled downwardly and out of the entry opening 56 in a direction opposite to the previous manual upward forcing movement thereof, which lifts the fastened end 74 of the flagpole rope 76 upwardly into a position near the top 32 of the flagpole 2t and immediately outwardly adjacent to the exit opening 58 at a location above the level of the upper pulley wheel 66, as is best shown in FIG. 5.

Then the fish tape threading member 70 is further pulled downwardly and outwardly through the entry opening 56, which pulls the fastenedend '74 of the flagpole rope 76 over the top of the pulley 66 and into the exit opening 58 and then downwardly through the threading conduit 48 and out of the lower entry opening 56 of said threading conduit 48 to a position exterior of the base or lower end 22 of the flagpole 20 where the two now closely adjacent ends of the flagpole rope 76 are tied or otherwise fastened together as indicated at '77 in FIG. 6, so as to cause the flagpole rope 76 to assume the form of an effective endless loop member, as is most clearly shown in MG. 6.

It should be noted that the flagpole rope member 76 may be provided with spaced fastening means of any suitable type, such as indicated in somewhat simplified form at 78, adapted to be fastened to rear corners of a flag, such as is shown in phantom at 88 in FIG. 6, thus providing an arrangement for controllably raising and lowering the flag 80 by merely moving the endless loop flagpole rope 76 in one direction or the other with respect to the upper pulley 66. Of course, various means may be provided for looking the endless loop flagpole rope '76 and, therefore, the flag 81), in any selected position, if desired.

The important point to note is that the threading of the flagpole rope '76 over the very substantially elevated upper pulley 66 at the elevated top 32 of the flagpole 20 is accomplished with the apparatus of the present invention, and through the use of the method of the present invention, without the'necessity of a person who is to perform the operation just described, either climbing or being otherwise elevated to the top 32 of the flagpole 20, as is necessary with conventional prior art flagpole and flagpole rope mounting structures.

It should be noted that an optional lower pulley wheel is shown in phantom at 81 as being rotatably mounted in a lower slot 82 in a manner generally analogous to the mounting of the previously described upper vpulley wheel 66. This is an optional feature and, in some forms of the invention, is not included and in other forms of the invention may be included if desired. However, in the simplest form of the invention, it is not included.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view illustrating a very slight modification of the first form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. l6 and described in detail hereinbefore. In the FIG. 7 modification of the invention, the entire top portion 320 of the flagpole 20a is rotatively mounted by the bearing means generally designated at 84 relative to the fixed remaining or intermediate portion 46a of the flagpole 20a for the purpose of minimizing any tendency for a flag, such as the one shown fragmentarily in phantom at 8ft in FIG. 6, to become wound around the flagpole Zfla as a result of wind action. Any such tendency will cause the rotary top portion 32a which carries the upper pulley 66a and the upper portion of the flagpole rope similar to the one shown at 76 in FIG. 6, and a flag adapted to be carried thereby, to rotate around the vertical axis of the flagpole 20a rather than to merely wind such a flag around the flagpole 26a. This action can occur to whatever extent is permitted by the looseness of the flagpole rope, which can be made as loose as required for this purpose, and in some cases can be made free at the lower end after a flag is elevated or hoisted, thus positively preventing any tendency fora flag to become wrapped around a flagpole 20a.

It should be noted that parts of the FIG. 7 modification of the invention which correspond structurally or functionally to the first form of the invention are designated by similar reference numerals, followed by the letter 0, however.

FIG. 8 illustrates fragmentarily a slightly modified version of the first form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-6 and because of the similarity, corresponding parts are designated by corresponding reference numerals, followed by the letter b, however, in the FIG. 8 modification of the invention.

It will be noted that the only difference of the FIG. 8 modification of the invention from the first form illustrated in FIGS. 1-6 is the fact that there are two flagpole ropes 76b, each threaded with respect to a different one of two upper pulleys 66b and each passed through a single threading conduit 48b, which is somewhat larger in diameter than in the case of the first form of the invention, although individual threading conduits may be employed for each flagpole rope 76b in certain forms of the invention. Also, there are two pairs of inlet and exit openings 56b and 58b for the two flagpole ropes 76b.

It will be noted that the FIG. 8 modification of the invention operates substantially the' same as the first form of the invention. with the only difference being the fact that the two different flagpole ropes 761') are capable of mounting two different flags 80b in a manner such as to make it possible to independently elevate and lower either of the two flags Sill) as desired. Incidentally, it should be noted that more than two flagpole ropes, entry and exit openings, and upper pulleys for mounting more than two flags, are also intended to be included and comprehended within the scope of the present invention, and it is believed that the showing of FIG. 8 provides an adequate disclosure of all such arrangements which differ only in number from the double arrangement of FIG. 8. Also, it should be noted that such double, or multiple, flagpole rope-mounting arrangements may be employed with the modified rotatable mounting arrangement form of the invention illustrated in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 illustrates a further modification of the invention wherein similar parts are designated by similar reference numerals, followed by the letter c, however. In this modification, it will be noted that the upper pulley 66c is not mounted in a radial plane in a manner similar to the pulley 66 of the first form of the invention, but is mounted in a plane substantially perpendicular thereto-that is, in a non-radial plane displaced from, and substantially parallel to, a longitudinal central plane in which the axis of the flagpole Zilc lies. Also, in this modification, additional guiding means, such as indicated at 88 is fastened outside of the pulley 66c and has an outwardly curved upper edge 99 so positioned as to guide the central portion 760' of the flagpole rope 76c downwardly into threaded overlying engagement with respect to the top of the pulley 66c when it is forcibly disengaged from the head end 720 of the fish tape threading member 70c in the manner best illustrated in FIG. 10. In other words, in this modification of the invention, the fish tape threading member 700 is forced along the interior ofthe threading conduit 48c in a manner similar to that described hereinbefore and, after it exits into a position exterior of the exit opening 58c, it then is further extended and falls under the action of gravity to a position adjacent to the lower end of the flagpole 200 in a manner similar to that illustrated in FIG. 4 of the first form of the invention where it is fastened to said middle 760' of the flagpole rope 76c rather than to one end thereof such as that shown at 74 in the first form of the invention. Then the fish tape threading member 700 is pulled in the opposite direction and elevates or lifts the middle portion 76c of the flagpole rope 76c, into the position shown in FIG. 9 where it strikes the exterior of the flagpole 20c at the outer terminus of the exit opening 58c but cannot enter same because it is too large (being a double thickness of rope). This causes the fastening, such as a short length of string, a clamp, or the like, as illustrated at 92, to break the connection between the head end 720 of the fish tape threading member 70c and the middle portion 760' of the flagpole rope 76c and release same in a manner such that it will drop directly downwardly from the position shown in FIG. 9 into the position shown in FIG. 10, which action is helped by the guiding effect of the auxiliary guide member 88 so that said middle portion 7 6c of the flagpole rope 760 will come to rest on the top of the pulley 56c with both ends of the flagpole rope 76c hanging in equal lengths downwardly therefrom to a position adjacent to the base or lower end of the flagpole 200 where said lower ends of the flagpole rope 760 can be fastened or otherwise tied together to effectively form an endless loop. This is usually fastened around an auxiliary lower pulley 94 whereby to maintain tension in the endless loop flagpole rope 76c, although various other tensioning means may be employed in lieu of a lower pulley 94 or it may, in certain cases, hang free and, if desired, be fastened to the flagpole 200 after a flag, such as is shown fragmentarily at 800, is either elevated or lowered, as desired.

FIG. 11 illustrates a further modification of the first form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-6, although it is applicable to any of the different modified forms of the invention illustrated in the various figures and described hereinbefore. Because of the similarity to the earlier forms of the invention, parts which structurally or functionally correspond to those of the first form of the invention are designated by similar reference numerals, followed by the letter d, however.

The major difference of the FIG. 11 modification of the invention from the first form illustrating in FIGS. 16 is the fact that the threading member 70d is not made of electricians fish tape, but is made of any ordinary tensile material, which may be as flexible as desired. For example, it may be made of something like Nylon cord or fish line having sufficient strength for the purposes of the present invent-ion.

Another major distinction is the fact that the head end 720. of said modified threading member 70d is substantially different from the head end 72 of the threading member 70 of the first form of the invention in that it effectively comprises what might be called a differential pressurepropelled projectile which is of a diameter only slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the threading conduit 48d, as is clearly shown in FIG. 11, so that pressurized fluid applied to the entry opening 56d behind and below said projectile member comprising said head end 72d of the threading member 70d, will effectively force it upwardly along the threading conduit 48d to the top thereof and out of the exit opening &1 to a position exterior of the complete flagpole 29d. Of course, when this occurs, the projectile member, comprising said head end 72d of the threading member 7 (id, will fall downwardly under the action of gravity over the top of the upper pulley 66d and into a position adjacent to the lower or base end 220! of the flagpole 20:], after which the remaining steps of the flagpole rope'threading operation are substantially the same as those described hereinbcfore in connection with the first form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-6.

It should be noted that the lower entry opening 56d may be provided with an exteriorly extending threaded coupling member 96 to allow a conventional hose, water tap, or other source of pressurized water or air to be connected thereto for controllably applying pressurized fluid thereto for the purposes outlined above. Of course, once the projectile, comprising the head end 72d of the threading member 70d, is forcibly ejected from the upper exit opening 58d, the source of pressurized fluid is effectively turned off and/or disconnected from the threaded lower coupling member 96 since it is no longer needed. However, it should be noted that any means for supplying the pressurized fluid may be employed and the invention is not limited to the use of the threaded coupling member 96.

Incidentally, it should be noted that, in the specific example illustrated in FIG. ll, the projectile, comprising the head end 72d of the threading member 70:], may be made of a material such as wood, or the like, or may be made of hollow construction, so that the effective average density thereof is less than that of water whereby to be buoyantly supported by water, and in this particular arrangement the pressurized fluid referred to and shown in FIG. 11 may comprise water as designated at 98 in FIG. 11. However, as pointed out above, it should be clearly understood that the invention is not limited to the use of pressurized water but may employ various pressurized fluids.

It should be understood that the figures and the specific description thereof set forth in this application are for the purpose of illustrating the present invention and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention to the precise and detailed specific structure shown in the figures and specifically described hereinbefore. Rather, the real invention is intended to include substantially equivalent constructions embodying the basic teachings and inventive concept of the present invention.

We claim:

1. A flagpole rope threader comprising: a longitudinal flagpole having a lower end adapted to be rigidly fastened and mounted with respect to an auxiliary supporting memher in projecting relationship with respect thereto, and having a remote top end longitudinally remotely spaced from said lower end of said flagpole; longitudinal threading conduit means carried by said longitudinal flagpole substantially along the complete length thereof from a lower entry location adjacent to said lower end of said flagpole to an upper exit location below and adjacent to :said remote top end of said flagpole; and at least one pulley sheave rotatively mounted adjacent to but slightly below said remote top end of said flagpole; said threading conduit means having an entry opening at a lower end thereof and having an exit opening at a remote top end thereof, with said entry opening being accessible from the exterior of said flagpole adjacent to said lower end thereof and with said exit opening being in effective communication with the region exterior of said remote top end of said flagpole in a manner such as to direct the egress therefrom of the head end of an auxiliary threading member over said pulley sheave means and then downwardly, .under the action of gravity, back toward said lower end of said flagpole for temporary threading connection to a flagpole rope and for the subsequent application of ten sion, by way of said auxiliary threading member, to the flagpole rope for drawing same upwardly toward the remote top end of said flagpole and into overlying rollable engagement with respect to said pulley sheave means, with remote ends of said flagpole rope adjacent to said lower end of said flagpole being then connected to each other adjacent to said entry opening.

2. A flagpole rope threader as defined in claim 1, wherein said remote top end of said flagpole is provided with a decorative and esthetically attractive flagpole head.

3. A flagpole rope threader as defined in claim 1, wherein said longitudinal flagpole has an intermediate longitudinal portion which is of hollow substantially tubular construction and which carries said longitudinal threading conduit means therein.

4. A flagpole rope threader as defined in claim 1, where in said longitudinal flagpole has an intermediate longitudinal portion which is of hollow substantially tubular construction and which carries said longitudinal threading conduit means therein, said remote top end of said flagpole being provided with a decorative and esthetically attractive flagpole head effectively closing the open top end of said flagpole.

5. A flagpole rope threader as defined in claim 1, wherein said pulley sheave lies in a substantially radial plane relative to said remote top end of said flagpole and has an inner peripheral edge portion in communication with said upper exit opening and has an outer peripheral edge portion positioned in eflective exterior communication with the region outside of said upper exit opening and said flagpole.

6. A flagpole rope threader as defined in claim 1, wherein said pulley sheave lies in a substantially radial plane relative to said remote top end of said flagpole and has an inner peripheral edge portion in communication with said upper exit opening and has an outer peripheral edge portion positioned in effective exterior communication with the region outside of said upper exit opening and said flagpole, the portion of said flagpole carrying said longitudinal threading conduit means being hollow and said threading conduit means being of smaller diameter than said hollow portion of said flagpole and being positioned therewithin.

'7. A flagpole rope threader as defined in claim 1, wherein said flagpole includes at least a rotative upper portion carrying said pulley sheave and a non-rotative mounting portion rotatively mounting said rotative upper portion for rotation around the longitudinal axis of the flagpole.

8. A flagpole rope threader as defined in claim 1, wherein the portion of said flagpole carrying said longitudinal threading conduit means being hollow and said threading conduit means being of smaller diameter than said hollow portion of said flagpole and being positioned therewithin, said entry and exit openings being provided with effectively outwardly curved deflecting guide means for deflecting and guiding the auxiliary threading member from said inner threading conduit means outwardly through a corresponding aperture in said hollow flagpole to a position exterior thereof.

9. A flagpole rope threader as defined in claim 1, where in said pulley sheave lies in a non-radial plane displaced from and substantially parallel to a longitudinal central plane in which the axis of said flagpole lies.

10. A flagpole rope threader as defined in claim 1, wherein said flagpole includes at least a rotative upper portion carrying said pulley sheave and a non-rotative mounting portion rotatively mounting said rotative upper portion for rotation around the longitudinal axis of the flagpole, said rotative portion carrying said threading conduit means and said entry and exit openings in addition to said pulley sheave means for simultaneous rotation thereof and of said flagpole rope with said rotative portion of said flagpole.

11. A flagpole rope threader comprising: a longitudinal hollow flagpole having a lower end adapted to be rigidly fastened and mounted with respect to an auxiliary supporting member in substantially vertically projecting relationship with respect thereto, and having a remote top end longitudinally remotely spaced from said lower end of said flagpole; longitudinal threading conduit means carried within said longitudinal flagpole substantially along the complete length thereof from a lower entry location adjacent to said lower end of said flagpole to an upper exit location below and adjacent to said remote top end of said flagpole; and at least one pulley sheave rotatively mounted adjacent to but slightly below said remote top end of said flagpole; said threading conduit means having an entry opening at a lower end thereof and having an exit opening at a remote top end thereof, with said entry opening being accessible from the exterior of said flagpole adjacent to said lower end thereof and with said exit opening being in effective communication with the region exterior of said remote top end of said flagpole in a manner such as to direct the egress therefrom of the head end of an auxiliary threading member outwardly over said pulley sheave means and then downwardly, under the action of gravity, back toward said lower end of said flagpole for temporary threading connection to one end of a flagpole rope and for the subsequent application of tension, by way of said auxiliary threading member, to the end of the flagpole rope for drawing same upwardly toward the remote top end of said flagpole and into overlying rollable engagement with respect to said pulley sheave means, and into said top exit opening communicating with said top end of said threading conduit means and then downwardly through said threading conduit means and out of said lower entry opening, said entry and exit openings being provided with effectively outwardly curved deflecting guide means for deflecting and guiding the auxiliary threading member from said inner threading conduit means outwardly through a corresponding aperture in said hollow flagpole to a position exterior thereof.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 964,035 7/1910 Lombard 116-173 2,440,500 4/1948 Ellis 1l6--173 2,530,654 11/1950 Ellis 1l6173 WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

OTHELL M. SIMPSON, Examiner. 

1. A FLAGPOLE ROPE THREADER COMPRISING: A LONGITUDINAL FLAGPOLE HAVING A LOWER END ADAPTED TO BE RIGIDLY FASTENED AND MOUNTED WITH RESPECT TO AN AUXILIARY SUPPORTING MEMBER IN PROJECTING RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT THERETO, AND HAVING A REMOTE TOP END LONGITUDINALLY REMOTELY SPACED FROM SAID LOWER END OF SAID FLAGPOLE; LONGITUDINAL THREADING CONDUIT MEANS CARRIED BY SAID LONGITUDINAL FLAGPOLE SUBSTANTIALLY ALONG THE COMPLETE LENGTH THEREOF FROM A LOWER ENTRY LOCATION ADJACENT TO SAID LOWER END OF SAID FLAGPOLE TO AN UPPER EXIT LOCATION BELOW AND ADJACENT TO SAID REMOTE TOP END OF SAID FLAGPOLE; AND AT LEAST ONE PULLEY SHEAVE ROTATIVELY MOUNTED ADJACENT TO BUT SLIGHTLY BELOW SAID REMOTE TOP END OF SAID FLAGPOLE; SAID THREADING CONDUIT MEANS HAVING AN ENTRY OPENING AT A LOWER END THEREOF AND HAVING AN EXIT OPENING AT A REMOTE TOP END THEREOF, WITH SAID ENTRY OPENING BEING ACCESSIBLE FROM THE EXTERIOR OF SAID FLAGPOLE ADJACENT TO SAID LOWER END THEREOF AND WITH SAID EXIT OPENING BEING IN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION WITH THE REGION EXTERIOR OF SAID REMOTE TOP END OF SAID FLAGPOLE IN A MANNER SUCH AS TO DIRECT THE EGRESS THEREFROM OF THE HEAD END OF AN AUXILIARY THREADING MEMBER OVER SAID PULLEY SHEAVE MEANS AND THEN DOWNWARDLY, UNDER THE ACTION OF GRAVITY, BACK TOWARD SAID LOWER END OF SAID FLAGPOLE FOR TEMPORARY THREADING CONNECTION TO A FLAGPOLE ROPE AND FOR THE SUBSEQUENT APPLICATION OF TENSION, BY WAY OF SAID AUXILIARY THREADING MEMBER, TO THE FLAGPOLE ROPE FOR DRAWING SAME UPWARDLY TOWARD THE REMOTE TOP END OF SAID FLAGPOLE AND INTO OVERLYING ROLLABLE ENGAGEMENT WITH RESPECT TO SAID PULLEY SHEAVE MEANS, WITH REMOTE ENDS OF SAID FLAGPOLE ROPE ADJACENT TO SAID LOWER END OF SAID FLAGPOLE BEING THEN CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER ADJACENT TO SAID ENTRY OPENING. 